PHILADELPHIA. – Joel Embiid had 27 points and 16 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season to lift the Sixers past the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 98-97.
Embiid’s dunk with 13.2 seconds left turned out to be the winning basket in a game that Cleveland led by five with five minutes left. The late hoop, following an empty possession from each team, put Philadelphia up by one.
On Cleveland’s final possession, Kevin Love missed a 3-point attempt. The ball bounced around with players diving all over the floor for the rebound, and the clock eventually ran out. Love and Jordan Clarkson each scored 20 points for the Cavaliers.
In other games, it was Indiana 111, Oklahoma City 85; Miami 117, Detroit 108; Chicago 120, New York 102; Atlanta 125, Denver 121; LA Lakers 123, Phoenix 115; Utah 119, Brooklyn 114; and Sacramento 107, Portland 99.
In Phoenix, Kyle Kuzma had 23 points off the bench and hit a pair of key 3-pointers down the stretch, and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away from the host Suns.
Anthony Davis had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, and LeBron James added 19 points and 11 assists.
James made a 3-pointer and Kuzma sank two treys in a row in a 90-second stretch as the Lakers closed on a 12-2 run to win for the eighth time in nine games. The Suns, who have lost two of three, did not have a field goal in the final 3:28.
Lakers guard Rajon Rondo had five points and seven assists in 14 minutes in his return after missing the first nine games of the season due to a right calf strain. For Phoenix, Ricky Rubio and 21 points and 10 assists, Devin Booker 21 points and Aron Baynes 20 points.
Pacers 111, Thunder 85:
T.J. Warren scored 23 points and Indiana used a dominant third quarter to cruise a victory over Oklahoma City in Indianapolis, the Pacers’ seventh win in eight games. — Field Level Media
